Joffrey d'Synclarre was born in 1831 IE, to Lord Johnathan d'Synclarre and his wife, Marion. The firstborn of the house, his birth was much-celebrated and as he grew, he proved every bit the apple of his father's eye. His youth was spent as a page, not only becoming versed in the basics that all prospective knights learn, but also deeply enmeshed in the One Faith. He eagerly absorbed both the lessons of his father and of Mother Annabelle, the Priestess that served his home of Edgebrooke, who was a deeply close friend of his family.
Joffrey was betrothed at a very young age to Lady Catherine al'Callenta, the daughter of Lord Tomas al'Callenta, a cousin of the main al'Callenta line who was good friends with his father. The practice was not uncommon in the latter days of the Thirty Years' War. Indeed, when Joffrey came of age, he was squired to Lord Tomas, and continued his Knightly training under his watchful eye beginning in 1844 IE. Joffrey was an above-average but not spectacularly gifted student of the Knightly arts, but he was dutiful and carried himself with honor and dignity even when faced with setbacks. Still, in the lands of House al'Callenta it is all too common to be blooded early, and Joffrey not only achieved that feat but also first tasted the bitter sting of defeat when he and his Knight were among those that battled House Tarris of Galenthia when their young Duke pushed deep into Aequor. While Tomas and Joffrey acquitted themselves well on a personal level, and survived the battles that ensued from the invasion, they were still forced into retreat like so many of the other members of House al'Callenta and their vassals, outmaneuvered at nearly every turn by the ingenious tactics of the Southern commander. Indeed, it was only through the actions of the newly ascended Duke Cesare al'Callenta and the Argent Legion he commanded that House Tarris was eventually forced to turn back, but not until they had very nearly broken the backs of the warriors of the North.
The years afterwards were understandably years of rebuilding, but tragedy struck in 1849 IE. Lord Johnathan and his wife were visiting her family in the Duchy of Rhone when the wasting illness that so damaged House al'Mordran swept through those lands. Johnathan and Marion were among the fatalities from that disease, causing Joffrey to inherit his House at age 18, and rather immediately wed the Lady Catherine. It was a good match though, and as they had been friends since childhood and their families were close, it quickly blossomed into a match of love as well as politics. Catherine swiftly gave birth to a healthy boy they named John in honor of Joffrey's father (in point of fact, Catherine was actually pregnant with John before the wedding, though this was not known at the time…there had indeed been some "fooling around" that had occurred between the betrothed pair). Sadly, the birth was a difficult one for Catherine, and it left her barren, as no further children were born despite the couple's fervent efforts.
Still, the following years were happy ones for Joffrey. He was knighted at age 19 at the Tournament at Murnord, by no less a personage than Duke al'Callenta himself! He performed well in the tourney that followed, very nearly winning the Joust and acquitting himself well in the Melee. He went north to Benide and took the oaths of a Templar alongside his wife, who had been knighted shortly after him. He spent a couple of years patrolling the North, fighting skirmishes with Barbarians where he distinguished himself as a competent leader as well as a fighter. With the close of the Thirty Years' War, Joffrey was able to focus on the battles in the North, but like many who operated out of Benide, there was a growing awareness that the Barbarians seemed to be becoming more organized, their attacks more frequent. They were losing ground, slowly but steadily.
When young John came of age to join his father as his Squire, Joffrey proudly took him under his wing. The boy was filled with promise, and early indications were that he had the talents to surpass his father one day. There wasn't much time to celebrate, though, as Queen Kyrena's push southward erupted only weeks after John became Joffrey's squire. Joffrey moved quickly, mobilizing the whole of House d'Synclarre's forces and marching to Benide, arriving just in time for the siege to begin. Eight months of alternating boredom, terror, and near-starvation followed, but through it all, Joffrey held his men and his family together, and together they weathered skirmish after skirmish fighting valiantly against the barbarians….until Juin of 1862. Late in that month, a particularly large group of Kyrena's barbarians assaulted the section of the outer wall that Joffrey and the forces of House d'Synclarre had been assigned to defend. Their numbers seemed endless, and the fighting raged for hours, with Joffrey fighting alongside his troops in the thickest parts of the battle, and just when it seemed they had driven the Barbarians back…a new wave appeared…and then another. Three times the Barbarians assaulted that section of wall…three times, the wall held. But only at the most terrible of costs for Lord Joffrey.
His wife…dead. His son…dead. His brother…dead. Two uncles…dead. The forces of his house decimated. And yet, despite all that, and wounds that Joffrey himself had suffered in the fighting…Lord Joffrey refused to break. By the time the final battles were fought in Aout of 1862, Joffrey was again at the forefront of the fighting. Many believed he was simply looking for death, but it did not claim him, and when the siege was finally lifted, Lord (Sir) Joffrey had a new name: The Unbroken. While he grieved most deeply for the loss of so much of his family and his house, he remained resolute when he returned to Edgebrooke and once again began the process of rebuilding. The Knights and soldiers were more easily replaced than the family, though. With the generous assistance of both the Church and Duke al'Callenta for his valor and determination at Benide, House d'Synclarre's forces were replenished within just a couple short years.
Now, even as the barbarians again stir in the North, Lord Joffrey seeks to reclaim a family and secure his line, as he knows all-too-well how close they came to destruction. But his faith endures, and his trials and tragedies have shown him that there is little he cannot endure if he remains steadfast. He will not be broken. Not then, not now, and not ever. He will not yield.